Another sector heard from
A Vital Bloc, Realizing Its Power, Measures Its Suitors
By SARAH KERSHAW
HOENIX, Feb. 1 — The Arizona primary was less than 48 hours away, and John Ramos, a 38-year-old Mexican-American Democrat who voted for the first time in 2000, had still not made up his mind.
"As a Democrat, I really am not thrilled," said Mr. Ramos, who runs a small construction company in South Phoenix with his wife. "I think a lot of us are the same way. I just don't see a real front-runner that I'm totally happy with."
With time running out, the Democratic presidential candidates are heavily courting the surging number of Hispanics in Arizona and New Mexico who are about to go to the polls in what some have labeled Latino Super Tuesday.
The potential power of the Hispanic vote is clear: In Arizona, 25 percent of residents are now Hispanic; in New Mexico, 42 percent are Hispanic.
